Venting arrangement for laundry machine



ly 1958 J. W.'TOMA ETAL 2,843,944

VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed Feb. 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG-Ll JOHN w. TOMA ADRIAN FIELDS y 1.958 J. w. TOMA ET AL 2,843,944

YENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LAUNDRY MACHINE Filed Feb. 15, 1956 J 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f FIG. 2 5 'i E O,T22233322212333211132)? Q q f 1 2 F 44 y 3 O O Y -|4 I "n 55 p h f s 23 a I A 2 i l 2 E5 9 1 A 3' 'INVENTORS JOHN W. TOMA 3| ADRIAN FIELDS THEIR ATTORNEY United States. Patent VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR LAUNDRY MACHINE John W. Toma and Adrian Fields, Louisville, Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application February 13, 1956, Serial No. 565,037 6 Claims. (CI. 34-75) Our invention relates to laundry machines in which the clothes basket is enclosed within an outer imperforate tub, and more particularly to clothes dryers and combination washer-dryers of that type in which cold water is introduced into the tub during the drying operation to condense the moisture extracted from the clothes.

In these machines of the imperforate tub type it is desirable that the tub be vented to the surrounding room during the operation of the machine. The vent allows air to escape from the tub into the room and thereby prevents pressure from building up within the tub. A pressure build up within the tub is, of course, undesirable since it may not only interfere with the operation of the machine but may even cause damage to it. In a clothes washer the vent in particular allows air to escape from the tub as it is filled with water and allows air to enter the tub as the water is drained from it. In a clothes dryer the vent allows the expanding air to escape as the machine heats up during the drying operation. In a combination washe-rdryer the vent, of course, performs both of these functions.

The provision of the vent, however, creates a number of problems. In clothes washers it may allow the escape of suds out of the tub and onto the floor of the room if too many suds are formed during the washing operation. Such an oversuds condition occurs when the operator adds too much soap at the beginning of the operation, and if a sufiiciently large number of suds are formed, a pressure build-up may occur which forces a portion of them out through the vent. In clothes dryers the problem is that steam tends to escape steadily through the vent during the drying operation. The moisture extracted from the clothes assumes the form of steam or water vapor before it is condensed by the condensing means and some of this steam tends to pass through the vent with the expanding air leaving the tub. This steam condenses on the relatively cool room surfaces adjacent the dryer. Also, if the dryer door is opened and reclosed during the drying operation so that some of the hot air within the machine is replaced by the cool room air, a pressure surge will occur which tends to blow a large quantity of steam suddenly out through the vent. Thecombination washerdryer is subject to all of these problems. In it there is not only the possibility of suds escaping during the washing operation but also the possibility of steam escaping during the drying operation.

It is an object of our invention to provide a new and improved venting arrangement for laundry machines, which includes means both for condensing moisture from the air passing through the vent, and for relieving both pressure build-ups and sudden pressure surges within the tub without objectionable discharges from the vent.

It is another object of our invention to provide a venting arrangement including moisture condensing means within the vent, which is particularly adapted for use in clothes dryers and combination washer'dryers of the type which utilize a flow of cold water during the drying op- 2,843,944 Patented July 22, 1958 'ice 2 eration for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.

A further object of our invention is to provide a venting arrangement of this latter type in which the moisture condensing means within the vent are cooled by the same water which is introduced into the tub for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a laundry machine venting arrangement including an expansible means which is adapted to be inflated by sudden pressure surges from the tub into the vent, thereby to relieve the surges and avoid the discharge of substantial amounts of moisture out of the vent.

In carrying out our invention in one preferred form thereof, we provide a laundry machine having a clothes basket rotatable about a non-vertical axis. The basket is enclosed by an imperforate tub and heating means are provided for heating the clothes in the basket to extract moisture therefrom. A water line is included for supplying condenser water to the tub for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes, and a vent tube is provided for venting the tub to the surrounding atmosphere. By our invention the vent tube is provided with means both for condensing moisture from the air passing through it and for relieving sudden pressure surges from the tub without allowing objectionable discharges into the room. For condensing the moisture the condenser water line is extended into the vent tube and through a section thereof. The line is cooled as the condenser water passes through it into the tub and thereby the portion within the vent is effective to condense the moisture from the air passing through the vent. As a result the discharge of steam into the room is substantially avoided.

In one form of this invention the vent tube is provided with an expansible section which is arranged to be inflated by the sudden pressure surges from the tub so as to relieve these surges. The inflation of the expansible section relieves the surges and catches the moisture blown out of the tub by them, thereby avoiding the discharge of large amounts of moisture out of the vent into the room. After the pressure in the tub returns to normal, the greater portion of the moisture trapped in the expansible section is either condensed on the condenser water line or otherwise returned to the tub. 3

The subject matter which we regard as our invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. Our invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following de scription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a rear elevational view of a combination washer-dryer including a venting arrangement embodying our invention in one form thereof, certain surfaces of the view being broken away to illustrate details of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine of Fig. 1 with the side panel removed and with certain surfaces broken away in order to illustrate the interior of the venting means; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical sectional View of our preferred venting arrangement.

Referring now to the drawings we have shown therein a domestic laundry machine 1 comprising a combination washer and dryer. The machine 1 is of the horizontal axis type, that is, it includes a clothes basket 2 which. is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis. The basket 2 is generally cylindrical in shape with a perforated side wall and is mounted within an imperforate tub structure 3 which encloses it on all sides. The basket is rotatably supported from the tub structure by means of a horizontally extending shaft 4 which is mounted in an elongated bearing (not shown) hung from the rear Wall of the tub structure. The shaft 4 as well as supporting the hasket also serves as a means for turning it during the opera tion of the machine. Suitable alignedaccess openings are provided respectively in the basket and the tub and in the appearance cabinet 5 which surrounds the tub, and a hinged door 6 mounted on the appearance cabinet seals oif the tub during the operation of the machine.

The tub structure 3 and the appearance cabinet 5 are both mounted on a suitable base structure 7 at the bottom of the machine. The tub is supported therefrom by means of a plurality of arms 8 which are mounted on upstanding plates 9 fixedly attached to the base, and the appearance cabinet may be welded to the base or otherwise suitably attached thereto. In addition tothe tub and the appearance cabinet the base 7 also supports the basket drive means. The drive means comprise a'motor 10 and a multi-speed transmission assembly 11 (see Fig. 1). The motor 10 drives the transmission assembly 11 by means of a belt 12 and the transmission assembly in turn drives the basket through a belt 13. The belt 13 specifically turns a basket drive pulley 14 which is mounted on the outer end of the basket drive shaft 4. The transmission assembly 11 is shiftable be tween two different gear ratios so that the basket may be driven at one speed for tumbling clothes and a second or higher speed for centrifugally extracting water from the clothes. The means whereby the transmission is shifted between the lower and higher speeds preferably comprises a solenoid actuated plunger (not shown).

As mentioned above the machine 1 comprises a combination washer-dryer, that is, it proceeds through a cycle of operations first washing, rinsing and damp drying the clothes and then, if desired, completely or fluff drying the clothes. The clothes basket 2 is driven at its lower speed both for washing the clothes and for tumbling them during the drying operation. it is driven at its higher speed for extracting both wash and rinse water from them by centrifugal extraction. The machine during its sequence of operation is under the control of a suitable timer operated sequence control 15 which energizes and deenergizes the various electrical components of the macln'ne in predetermined sequence. Since the sequence control forms no part of the present invention it will not be described herein. However, a sequence control and circuit suitable for use in the illustrated machine are described and claimed in the copending application of Walter E. Gray, In, S. N. 512,612, filed June 2, 1955, and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

The machine 1 is provided with suitable water supply means whereby either hot water or a mixture of hot and cold water may be supplied to the tub 3 for washing and rinsing purposes. The water supply meansinclude connections 16 and 17 through which the hot and cold water are supplied respectively. A valve controlled by a solenoid 18 admits hot water to the machine and a valve controlled by a solenoid 19 admits cold water to the machine. The hot and cold water valves under the control of the solenoids 18 and 31.9 discharge through a common outlet conduit 20. From the conduit 20 the water passes across a suitable air-gap into a funnel 211. The funnel 21 in turn discharges into a line 22 (Fig. 2) which leads to a sump 23 which is mounted at the bottom of the tub structure and communicates with the interior thereof. The break or air gap provided by funnel 21 makes it impossible for water to be syphoned from the machine to contaminate the incoming water supply.

The water level within the machine may be controlled by any suitable means. However, in the illustrated machine a pressure actuated or hydrostatic sensing. device 24 controls both the water valve solenoids 18 and 19 to produce the proper water level in the machine during the 4 washing operation. The sensing device is connected to the interior of the tub by a suitable line 25 and it controls the solenoids to produce a water level in the tub during the washing operation such that the lower portion of the basket is covered. The basket thereby dips continually into the water as it rotates.

As water is admitted into the machine for washing or rinsing purposes through the line 22 and the sump 23, it displaces the air already in the machine. The displaced air escapes from the machine through a vent hose arrangement 26 which embodies our invention in one preferred form thereof. It is important, incidentally, that the displaced air be able to escape freely since the pressure sensing device 24 will not produce the correct water level within the tub unless the air pressure therein is maintained at or near room air pressure.

The vent hose arrangement 26 by our invention is so constructed and arranged that it allows this escape of air as the tub is filled but yet is effective to relieve both pressure build-ups and sudden pressure surges within the tub without allowing substantial amounts of suds or moisture to be discharged into the room. For example, it is effective to relieve an over-suds condition within the tub without allowing the suds to be blown into the room. In order to provide this pressure relieving action the vent hose itself divided into two portions or sections 27 and 28, which may be formed integrally or may comprise two separate elements as here shown, the outer or discharge section 27 comprises a more or less tubular element and is relatively rigid in form. In other words it does not expand readily in response to the increased pressure in the tub. The inner section 28 is, however, more flat in configuration than round, and in fact is rather bladder-like in form. The wall of the inner sec tion 28, unlike the wall of the other section 27, tends to expand or stretch when the pressure within the tub.

increases above atmospheric; and thereby the section 23 forms an expansible chamber which expands in volume whenever the pressure within the chamber is greater than the pressure surrounding the section. This expansion or inflation of the section 28 provides a pressure relieving action which, as explained hereinafter, relieves pressure build-ups and sudden pressure surges within the tub without allowing the discharge of moisture or suds into the room. The expansible section is connected to the interior of the tub by means of a fitting 29 formed integrally at its lower end. This fitting 29 may be attached to thetub wall by any suitable means, as for example a plurality of bolts. The expansible section may be connected to the outer rigid section 27 by any suitable means, as for example by dovetailing or by a clamp.

The illustrated machine is of the type which uses a cold water condenser during the drying cycle for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes. A portion 30 of the cylindrical wall of the tub 3 comprises this condenser and it is cooled by flowing cold water over it. Condenser water is admitted to the machine through the cold water connection 17 by an additional solenoid actuated valve controlled by a solenoid 31 (Fig. l). The solenoid 31 is energized by the sequence control during the drying operation so that the valve controlled by it passes water at a slow rate sutficient to cool the tub wall portion 30 for condensing the water extracted from the clothes. The condenser water valve discharges through a separate conduit 32 into a funnel 33, and the air gap between conduit 32 and funnel 33 prevents supply line contamination.

From the funnel 33 the condenser water flows through a line 34 toward the tub. The line 34, as shown in Fig. 2, extends into the expansible section 28 of the vent arrangement and includes a plurality of bends or curves 3 .0 within the section 28. The outlet end of the condenser water line is disposed adjacent the fitting 29 and the condenser water enters the tub through the same opening which serves as the vent opening. As is more fully explained hereinafter the portion of the condenser water line within the vent serves as a moisture condensing element for condensing any moisture which might try to escape from the tub through the vent. This arrangement of the condenser Water line as a condensing element within the vent forms another important aspect of our invention.

The condenser water flowing slowly into the tub through the fitting 29 is spread over the side of the tub by an inverted V head 35 formed on the tub wall directly f below the fitting. The condenser water being so spread out cools a substantial portion of the area of the tub wall, as indicated at 30, whereby there is provided a large cool surface for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.

The wash and rinse water used during the washing portion of the operation and the condenser water and the moisture extracted from the clothes during the drying operation are discharged from the machine through the sump 23. A discharge hose 36 leads from the sump to a pump 37 which is connected to the household drain by a flexible conduit 38 (Fig. 1). The pump 37 is energized at suitable times to drain the dirty wash and rinse water from the machine and is continually energized during the drying cycle.

To warm the wash water during the washing cycle and also in order to heat the clothes during the drying cycle, there is provided in the machine a heater assembly including two heaters 39 and 40. The heaters 39 and 40 are mounted within the upper portion of the tub 3 and when energized they heat the basket 2 by direct radiation. When the heaters are energized during the wash cycle, they heat the water by first heating the basket. Then as the basket dips into the wash water at the bottom of the tub it in turn heats the water. When the heaters are energized during the drying cycle, the heat transferred to the basket is then passed on to the clothes to cause vapor migration out of the clothes. Since the outer cylindrical shell of the basket is perforated some of the heat from the heating elements passes directly to the clothes by radiation during the drying cycle. A heat reflector 41 is positioned behind the heating elements to prevent direct radiation from the heating elements to the tub.

During the drying cycle the heaters 39 and 40 are under the control of a hydraulic type thermostat 42 which is mounted in the backsplasher of the appearance cabinet 5. Preferably the thermostat 42 not only controls the energization of the heaters but is also connected with the sequence control that it is efiective to control the duration of the drying cycle itself. A suitable circuit for accomplishing such control is shown in the aforesaid Gray application S. N. 512,612. The thermostat 42 may be of any suitable hydraulic type but preferably is of the expansible bellows type. The thermostat is actuated by means of a temperature sensing element 43 which is positioned within the tub adjacent the basket 2. The sensing element is connected to the thermostat by means of a suitable hydraulic line 44.

Our new and improved venting arrangement is eflective to vent the tub 3 to the surrounding room during both the washing cycle and the drying cycle. At the beginning of the washing cycle when wash water is fed into the machine and also later in the cycle when rinse water is fed into the tub, the vent allows the escape of the displaced air as the Water fills the tub. Conversely, when the water is drained from the machine after the washing and rinsing steps, the vent allows the entry of air from the surrounding room as the water level goes down. When the machine thereafter proceeds into the drying operation, the vent then allows the escape of the expanding air as the machine heats up.

By our invention, however, the venting arrangement includes condensing means which prevent the escape of steam with the expanding air during the drying cycle, and further is provided with pressure relieving means which prevent pressure build-ups and sudden pressure surges within the tub from blowing suds or steam out through the vent during either the washing or the drying operation. To explain first the pressure relieving means it will be understood that pressure build-ups and sudden pressure surges may be created in the machine in various different ways. One of the most common ways that a pressure surge is created is if the operator opens and shuts the machine door during the middle of the drying cycle. When the door is opened, a portion of the hot air within the machine escapes and is replaced by relatively cool air. Then when the door is reclosed, the cool air strikes the hot surfaces and expands very rapidly. This expansion causes a pressure surge which then tries to blow a quantity of steam out through the vent to relieve the pressure. An example of the ways in which a pressure build-up can be created is if the operator adds too much soap at the beginning of the washing cycle. In that case, as the machine begins operation a great quantity of suds is created resulting in what is known as an oversuds condition. In other Words more suds are created than can be accommodated within the machine. The resulting pressure then tries to force these suds out through the vent hose.

Our venting arrangement prevents these pressure buildups and surges from blowing a quantity of steam or suds into the room. As a pressure build-up occurs during an over-suds condition, the suds forced out of the machine pass into the expansible section 28 of the vent hose. These suds due to their mass cause the expansible section to inflate, and as the volume of section increases it accommodates a considerable amount of suds. The rubber section or container thus acts as a large reservoir to hold the suds so that they are not passed out onto the floor,

The expansible section 28 also acts as a pressure relief means if a sudden pressure surge should occur in the tub during the drying operation. In that case the sudden pressure surges forces a large quantity of steam into the vent, whereby the expansible section 28 expands or infiates in response to the pressure. By its increase in volume the section 28 accommodates the steam, and thereby prevents the discharge of the steam into the room. The reservoir effect also, of course, relieves the pressure within the tub itself.

Once the pressure build-up or surge is over, the expansible section 28 then tends to deflate slowly. As the section 28 returns to its normal shape the moisture and suds contained therein are returned in the greater part to the tub 3. If the expansion of the tube section 28 occurs during the drying cycle a condensing action is provided, as explained more fully hereinafter, by the condenser water line 34, so as to condense the moisture within the section 28 and return it to the tub. If the expansion of the section 28 occurs during the washing cycle so that it contains a quantity of suds, these subs tend to break down as the chamber defiates whereby the moisture in them is also returned to the tub. Also, the suds which may not break down return to the tub anyway when it is drained at the end of washing operation. In this manner the expansible section 28 not only relieves the pressure build-ups and surges occurring with in the tub but is also effective to return the suds or mist carried in the build-ups and surges back into the tub. It will be noted, of course, that the outlet from the section 28 is considerably higher than the connection to the tub through the fitting 29 whereby the suds or moisture will return to the tub by gravity.

In addition to the expansible pressure relieving means our vent arrangement further includes another novel feature, that feature as mentioned above being a means for preventing escape of steam through the vent tube during the drying operation. This means comprises a condensing element which is positioned within the expansible section 28 of the tube, and which specifically 7 comprises the portion 34a of the condenser Water line 34. As the condenser water is fed through the line 34 during the drying cycle, it, of course, cools the line 34 itself. The portion 34a of the line being positioned within the vent tube section 28, the expanding air within the machine flows over this cool portion as it passes outwardly through the tub. As the moist air comes into contact with the cool outer surface of the Water line portion 34a, the steam or water vapor contained therein tends to condense out on this surface. a continuous flow of water through the tube there is thus a continuous condensing action produced whereby very little steam escapes through the end of the tube with the air. Although the condenser Water line may not be effective to condense all the steam contained in the escaping air, nevertheless it condenses enough and cools the remainder sufliciently that no objectionable puddles or the like are formed below the discharge end of the vent hose. The plurality of curves or bends of the water line with the tube section 28 provide a condensing surface of suificient size to eifect this result. The steam condensing effect produced by the line 34 is, of course, effective throughout the drying cycle since the condenser water is fed into the tub throughout the drying cycle.

From the above it will be seen that we have provided a new and improved venting arrangement which is particularly adapted for use with laundry machines of the type having a clothes basket enclosed Within an outer imperforate tub. The venting arrangement is effective both to relieve pressure build-ups and surges within the tub without allowing undesirable discharges into the room, and to prevent the escape of steam during a drying operation. The pressure relieving action is, of course, provided by an expansible section of the vent hose and the moisture condensing action is provided by extending the condenser water line through the expansible section of the hose. Being effective to provide both these actions the venting arrangement substantially obviates the problem of undesirable discharges into the room containing the laundry machine.

While in accordance With the patent statutes we have described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of our invention it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that numerous changes and modifications may be made therein Without departing from the invention, and it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a laundry machine, a clothes basket having openings therein, an imperforate tub enclosing saidbasket heating means for heating the clothes in said basket for extracting moisture therefrom, a vent tube for venting said tub to the surrounding atmosphere, an opening in the wall of said tub connecting said vent tube to the interior of said tub, and a condenser Water line for admitting water to said machine for condensing the moisture extracted from said clothes, said condenser Water line extending into said vent tube and comprising a plurality of bends within a section of said tube for condensing moisture from the air being discharged through said tube, thereby substantially to prevent the discharge of moisture through said tube into said room, and said condenser water line emptying into said machine at its discharge end for condensing the moisture within said tub.

2. In a laundry machine, a clothes basket having openings therein, an imperforate tub enclosing said baket, heating means for heating the clothes in said basket for extracting moisture therefrom, an opening in the wall of said tub, a vent tube connected to said opening for vent- Since there is l 8 ing said tub to the surrounding atmosphere, said vent tube including an expansible section arranged to be inflated by pressure build-ups and surges within said tub thereby to relieve said build-ups and surges and avoid the discharge of substantial amounts of moisture out of said vent, said expansible section being located in said vent tube adjacent said tub and remote from the discharge end of said tube, and a condenser Water line for admitting water to said tub for condensing the moisture extracted from said clothes, said condenser Water line extending into and through said expansible section of said tube for condensing any moisture contained in the air being discharged through said vent tube, and said condenser water line emptying into said opening to pass said condenser Water into said tub.

3. Tie combination of claim 2 wherein said expansible section comprises a bladder-like section disposed, and said condenser water tube includes a plurality of bends Within said section for increasing the length of the moisture condensing surface.

4. In a laundry machine, a clothes basket having openings therein, an imperforate tub enclosing said basket, heating means for heating the clothes in said basket for extracting moisture therefrom, condensing means for condensing said moisture within said machine, an opening in the Wall of said tub, and a vent tube connected to said opening for venting said tub to the surrounding atmosphere, said tube including an expansible section arranged to be inflated by pressure build-ups and surges within said tub, thereby to relieve said build-ups and surges and avoid the discharge of substantial amounts of moisture out of said vent tube, said expansible section being located in said vent tube adjacent said tub and remote from the discharge end of said tube.

5. In a laundry machine, a clothes basket having openings therein, an imperforate tub enclosing said basket, heating means for heating the clothes in said basket for extracting moisture therefrom, condensing means for condensing said moisture within said machine, an opening in the wall of said tub, and a vent tube connected to said opening for venting said tub to the surrounding atmosphere, said vent tube including a bladder-like expansible section disposed adjacent said tub for relieving pressure build-ups and surges within said tub, said expansible section being inflated by said build-ups and surges and deflating gradually thereafter, thereby to prevent said build-ups and surges from forcing substantial amounts of moisture out through said vent tube said expansible section being located in said vent tube adjacent said tub and remote from the discharge end of said tube.

6. In a laundry machine, a clothes basket having openings therein, an imperforate tub enclosing said basket, means including a drive motor for rotating said basket, an opening in the wall of said tub, and means connected to said opening for venting said tub to the surrounding atmosphere during the operation of said machine, with the venting means including an expansible section arranged to be inflated by pressure build-ups and surges within said tub, thereby to relieve said build-ups and surges and avoid the discharge of substantial amounts of moisture out through said vent, said expansible section being located in said venting means adjacent said tub opening and remote from the discharge end of said venting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,451,692 Pugh Oct. 19, 1948 2,724,905 Zehrbach Nov. 29, 1955 2,792,640 Patterson May 21, 1957 

